Fred
Cossard is a natural wine guy who started his domaine in 1996, and
now farms 7 hectares (all rented), making his wine in Saint-Romain.
He began his career in the milk trade and then worked for a while as
a wine merchant before deciding to switch to making the stuff.

He
began with a rented facility in Saint Romain, then bought a house
with a cellar in the village in 1998, where he made his wines until
he moved to the current winery, also in the village.

Vinification
is without any sulfur dioxide at all. Cossard uses a long maceration
of five to six weeks, and malolactic fermentation occurs while the
wine is still on the skins. The barrels he uses are cleaned by ozone
– not sulfur dioxide.

The
natural fermentations of the whites can take up to 6 months: there
is no stirring of the lees at all.

His
range is divided into the wines sold under his name (higher end) and
those of Domaine de Chassorney. UK retail prices are given in
brackets (the UK agent is Les Caves de Pyrene).